Is oxytocin an undeservedly forgotten hormone in men?

Abstract

Oxytocin is one of the most ancient mammalian hormones in terms of phylogeny. Over the more than 100-year history of his scientific study, views on the biological functions of oxytocin in humans have undergone a significant and even revolutionary changes. For a long time, this neurohypophysis hormone, which is formed in the hypothalamus and is only deposited in it (central synthesis), was associated exclusively with female reproduction in the aspect of labor, breastfeeding and maternal behavior. However, over the past decades, a unique and extensive scientific base has been created confirming the universal nature of the effects of oxytocin in both sexes, which is predetermined by the presence of additional peripheral sites of oxytocin secretion in men and women, as well as an extensive receptor apparatus in many cells and tissues, which together allows oxytocin to function both endocrine central and auto- and paracrine local signaling pathways. This fact convincingly proves that oxytocin has a much wider range of physiological effects in the body of both sexes, and the results of modern research allow us to consider it as a central neuropeptide and a peripheral multifunctional hormone of great biological and social significance for humans.The review article briefly discusses the endocrinology of oxytocin and in more detail its physiological effects in men, including its role in social and sexual behavior, erectile function, protection from stress, reproduction, metabolism, prostate gland.